1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for processing information, a recording medium, and a program, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for processing information, a recording medium, and a program, which allow a user to make an adjustment associated with content data such as an image in accordance with user's preference.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, there has been a need for a high-performance audio/visual system. In response to such a need, a high-performance television system called “high vision” (trademark) having the capability of displaying a higher-resolution image than can be obtained in conventional television sets have been developed. In the high vision television system, in contrast to the NTSC television system in which 525 scanning lines are used, as many as 1125 scanning lines are used. That is, the number of scanning lines used in the high vision television system is greater than twice the number of scanning lines used in the NTSC television system. Furthermore, in the high vision television system, unlike the NTSC television system in which the screen aspect ratio is 3:4, the screen aspect ratio is 9:16, which makes it possible to display a more realistic image with higher resolution than can be achieved by the NTSC television system.
Although the high vision television system has advantages described above, when a conventional NTSC video signal is directly supplied to a high vision television set, the high vision television set cannot display it in the high vision format because of the above-described differences in specifications between the NTSC television system and the high vision television system.
In view of the above, the applicant for the present invention has proposed (in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 8-51599) a converter for converting a NTSC video signal into a high vision video signal thereby allowing an image corresponding to the NTSC video signal to be displayed in the high vision form. In this converter, for pixel data at a location of interest in a high vision video signal, pixel data in a block (area) at a location corresponding to the location of interest in the high vision video signal are extracted from a given NTSC video signal. A class of the pixel data at the location of interest is determined on the basis of a level distribution pattern of the extracted pixel data in the block. The specific value of the pixel data at the location of interest is then determined in accordance with the determined class.
However, in the converter described above, the resultant image displayed in the high vision format has a fixed resolution, and a user cannot adjust parameters such as contrast or sharpness associated with the resolution, depending on the content of the image in accordance with user's preference.
To avoid the above problem, the applicant for the present invention has further proposed (in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-238185) a NTSC-to-high vision video signal conversion technique in which a high vision video signal is generated in accordance with values of parameters specified by a user thereby allowing the user to adjust the resolution of an image displayed in accordance with the resultant high vision video signal.
Although this video signal conversion technique allows a user to adjust the resolution of the image in accordance with user's preference, the technique has a further problem. For example, in a case in which a desirable resolution varies depending on whether an image has a bright color tone or dark color tone, the user has to adjust the resolution each time the color tone varies. This is very troublesome to the user. Furthermore, in a case in which there are two or more parameters associated with image quality, if one parameter is adjusted, the adjustment of the one parameter can influence other parameters, and thus it is needed to readjust other parameters which have already been adjusted. Thus, it is difficult to quickly achieve a desired result in the adjustment.